By Nina Singh-Hudson | Source |
In a tiny, tucked-away corner of San Rafael, a group of longtime residents is taking its landlord to court, saying a wave of pressure and paperwork is threatening to wipe out one of the city’s last relatively affordable enclaves. Tenants at the 45-space RV Park of San Rafael have filed suit against the property owner, accusing the company of yearslong harassment, unlawful evictions and retaliatory rent hikes that they say are designed to push families out.
The lawsuit, filed in Marin County Superior Court, asks a judge to declare that the park is legally a mobile-home park covered by San Rafael’s rent-stabilization rules and to stop recent termination and eviction efforts. At the heart of the case is a technical-sounding question with very real consequences for residents: is this place an RV park or a mobile-home park, and which tenant protections come with that label?
What the Lawsuit Asks the Court
According to a press release by California Rural Legal Assistance, attorneys with Legal Aid of Marin and CRLA filed the complaint on behalf of an association called San Rafael Homeowners United. The case is listed as CV0007679 and seeks injunctive relief, monetary damages and a court declaration that the park falls under San Rafael’s Mobile Home Park Rent Stabilization Ordinance.
Notices, Inspections and a Shrinking Community
Residents say that once Harmony Communities took over management, the company began issuing a steady stream of seven-day violation notices that often escalated into 60-day termination notices and, eventually, eviction filings. Tenant advocates and local reporting have documented the pattern.
As reported by KQED, families were cited for relatively minor infractions, such as leaving a broom outside or having a porch that management said did not comply with rules, and were given only days to fix the problem. Local coverage in the Pacific Sun and other outlets says that since Harmony’s 2021 takeover, more than half of the park’s longtime residents have left or been forced out, leaving a community that feels noticeably hollowed out to those who remain.
Owner Denies Wrongdoing
Harmony’s leadership rejects the allegations and says the company has been trying to clean up genuine problems, not clear out low-income tenants. The Marin Independent Journal reports that Harmony founder Matthew Davies has denied the claims and submitted records to the city, including a rent roll, that he says show only modest rent increases.
Company representatives have told reporters that Harmony welcomes low-income families and that enforcement actions, including those contested notices, are intended to address health-and-safety or code-compliance issues, not to drive people out. In their telling, it is routine property management, not a campaign of harassment.
Why Classification Matters
The legal fight turns on a deceptively simple distinction: whether the units in the park count as recreational vehicles or, under state law, mobile homes. The answer determines which set of protections tenants can invoke.
As KQED notes, California law treats a trailer or RV as a mobile home if it stays on the same site for nine or more continuous months. A 2004 Superior Court ruling has already found that this particular parcel qualifies as a mobile-home park. Reporting in the Pacific Sun shows that a 2023 settlement with the city required the park to remain under rent control and barred its closure or conversion for ten years.
Legal Stakes and Next Steps
The plaintiffs are asking the court to block Harmony from enforcing what they describe as unlawful rent increases and to reaffirm that the park is protected by the city’s rent-stabilization ordinance, according to the CRLA press release. Local reporting indicates that a separate unlawful-detainer case is already moving through Marin County court and could shape whether Harmony is allowed to pursue broader evictions, per the Marin Independent Journal. The CRLA release identifies the matter as San Rafael Homeowners United v. Harmony Communities, Case No. CV0007679.
For residents such as Herman Privette, who has lived at the park for decades, the lawsuit is described as a last line of defense. Privette and other neighbors told KQED that constant notices and tenant turnover have stripped away much of the old neighborhood feel. Tenant attorneys say the new complaint has the potential to force accountability and slow further displacement. In the coming months, court dates and filings will determine whether the park’s protections hold or whether the residents’ fears of being pushed out become reality.
ED. NOTE: According to HCD records, the park has 45 Mobilehome spaces and NO RV spaces.
